News

20 October 2009

 

OPEL and BETASOL complete third 110kW phase of utility-grade HCPV solar farm

Together with its Spanish partner BETASOL (which builds utility-grade solar farm installations for subsequent sale to investor groups), OPEL Solar Inc (a subsidiary of OPEL International Inc of Shelton, CT and Toronto, ON, Canada) has completed the third 110kW phase of its utility-grade photovoltaic power plant in the Tarragona region of northern Spain. The solar farm is one of the first operable solar grid fields in the world using OPEL’s high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) panel technology.

This brings the plant’s installed electricity-generating capacity to 330kW of the targeted 440kW. The second phase was completed only in mid-August and the first phase between last December and early this July. The balance of the installation is expected to take place by the end of third-quarter 2009. When fully completed, the plant will supply electricity to over 350 households.

OPEL Solar says that it continues to host customer visits to the solar farm. “The reaction of customers to OPEL’s HCPV technology has been nothing but positive,” says CEO Robert Pico. “HCPV delivers scalable electric power to the grid.” Visitors can witness this firsthand, he adds.

OPEL built the installation with its Mk-I HCPV panels (which concentrate light from the sun more than 500 times) mounted on dual-axis trackers which, combined, result in higher power production per unit of land (acre/hectare) than silicon or thin-film flat panels, with the potential to boost photovoltaic yields by up to 40%, the firm claims. OPEL also reckons that the conversion efficiency is up to twice that of silicon flat-plate solar panels and more than three times that of thin-film solar panels.

See related items:

OPEL and BETASOL complete 2nd 110kW phase of 440kW Spanish HCPV solar farm

OPEL and BETASOL complete first 110kW phase of HCPV installation

Spain’s BETASOL gains funding for second, 2.375MW solar farm using OPEL’s HCPVs

Search: OPEL CPV GaAs

Visit: www.opelinc.com